Maneater
by glittergoddess13
Summary: Sam & Dean, both injured, are trapped by creature with cravings for flesh. With no way out, Dean deals with insecurities, pain, and loss. Dark Angel reference as joke. LimpSam, LimpDean, ProtectiveSam, ProtectiveDean, CryingDean! Reviews are appreciated
1. Corn, Corn, Corn

My first fanfic ever! Thanks to those who read. I appreciate and welcome any and all feedback. I hope you enjoy!

**Maneater**

Tom Gage walked the border of his corn field admiring the harvest that was to come. His wife wandered out of there farm house and poked his side.

"Are you going to come in soon, or do I have to drag you in here"

"In a minute, Lee…", he said as he stamped the ground.

Leah laughed and turned to go back in the house. As she stepped closer to the door, she heard a sound… a low, fierce, animal growl mixed with human laughter. The sound made chills radiant over her body and she swiftly turned back to face her husband. Her glance was just in time to see a large disfigured beast jump from the stalks of corn. The animal quickly overpowered Tom and with a loud crunch the beastdevoured his right arm. The creature sunk his razor sharp teeth in the man's side in the blink of an eye. Without thinking, Leah shrieked in utter terror.

Her scream drew the beast's attention upon her. She stood terrified, looking at her husband and the blood on the ground. The beast pounced quickly as a cat upon unsuspecting field mice. Leah realized the beast would soon be upon her andslammed the door hard, rattling the door frame under the pressure. The claws screeched down the wooden door. The beastly voice chanting "Mine, hungry….mine, mine". The large claws made short work of the door. Within seconds, the beast would be upon her. Leah grabbed and loaded her husband's double-barrel shotgun. The door cracked under the pressure of the beast's final paw swing. The door's splintered pieces littered the air, as the beast leaped in the room. As the beast came down upon her, gunfire rang into the air.

-x-x-xx-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-

**A week later…**

Dean cracked his back as he drove the Impala down the lonely highway and watched the endless cornstalks ahead. Morning had not yet risen. Dean rubbed his eyes, then sucked down the last of the cold, putrid coffee. He glanced over at Sam, who had fallen asleep. Dean had been driving for 15 hours, but didn't want to wake Sam. Sleeping seemed to be as escaping as the yellow eyed demon lately, especially to Sam. Dean turned his attention back to the road vowing he would stop at the next gas station for a pick me up or the next hotel so they could both catch a few hours. He decided to amuse himself by creating some random pick-up lines in his head. They always proved highly useful in his other past time. Two hours passed as he amused himself, chuckling from time to time and ignoring his vow to stop. He found himself thinking of a past relation. A smirked appeared on his face. Just as a chuckle passed his lips, the front wheel dipped into a huge pothole.

"Damn it!" Dean shouted, realizing it was just loud enough to awaken Sammy. If the pothole didn't.

"Hey Dean, did you forget how to drive?!" Sam mouthed sleepily.

"AHH... just shut up", Dean muttered.

"Hey, you woke me up, so now I'm your problem… Sam started another quip, but realized the time of day was later than he expected. "Dude how long have you been driving?

"Not that long, just wanted to makes up some good time before we stopped. We got another 10 minutes to make it to Wahoo, Nebraska. Can't wait to go to a cornfield, haven't seen any corn all day", Dean stated as the cornstalks endlessly displayed through the Impala's window.

"Dean, we are not going to look at corn and stop saying Wahoo like that."

"Have you looked outside Sammy? Wahoooooo"

"The fact that multiple people have died recently from "animal attacks" is a bit odd." Sam glanced at Dean and rolled his eyes as he leaned back on his head rest.

"Dude... I know that…thanks Mr. Exposition….Hey, was Sammy one of the kids name in Children of the Corn?

"God, you're a jerk! Grow-up!"

Dean snickered as pulled into the Country Lane Motel.


	2. Delieverance and Information

Sam opened his eyes to the morning light shinning brightly thorough the stained glass window above the motel door. His eyes focused on the odd image. Why anyone would make a stain glass pig was beyond him. He groaned with disgust and turned, only to be faced with yet another pig related itemed. He let out a huge sigh, when Dean strutted through the door. His arms were loaded with the usual to go bags and coffee. Dean placed the items on the multicolored pig table.

"Morning sunshine! Got you some breakfast…thought ham was appropriate." Dean snickered.

Sam moaned and threw his pig shaped pillow at Dean's head.

"Ahh…Come on Sammy! We had our choice of pig, cow, or the chicken. So, hope you are enjoying the Ned Beatty Grand suite."

"Shut up…man, how many pig items can they use to decorate this room?" Sam said grabbing the hot java from the pig shaped coffee table.

"And you thought our lives were scary. I don't know what to shoot. The pig clock is my first choice! Hey…Sammy, which do you find scarier?"

"The fact that I have many days worth of Deliverance jokes to look forward to from you."

"He ha he…speaking of pigs…let's go talk to the cops.

"Do you always have to be an idiot? Pigs, Cops! You seriously need some help. AND, YOU mean, I get to talk to the cops."

"It's nice you are finally pulling your weight in this family."

"Shut up!"

"Oh…nice comeback, Sammy! Ohhhh…burn!"

x-x-xx-x-xx-x-x-xx-x-xx-x-x-x-x-xx

Sam quickly marched from the local police station over to an awaiting Dean. The swiped police file in his hands.

"According to the local PD, seven victims have been found with various body parts missing. The attacks have occurred at night for the past four weeks. All the victims had multiple bite and claw wounds. Some had a sting like punctures. The police are calling it a large unknown animal attack."

"Unknown. That's specific."

"The last victims, that got our attention, occurred a week ago- Tom and Leah Gage. The husband was mangled, but Leah survived…Briefly anyway. She died two hours later. In her delirium, she shrieked about a man-lion attacking her. "

Dean snatched the file from Sam's fingers. "It says here that the locals of Wahoo have taken to killing any animal that moves. The Multiple witnesses have attributed the animal to be a wolverine, a bear, a mountain lion, and a circus tiger. Dude… lions, tiger, and bears. They're making this way too easy." Dean's smirked played on his lips.

Sam shook his head. "The last victim managed to shoot the thing once. They found a blood sample, which couldn't be typed to a known origin.

"Okay, Dorothy…let's see if we can findsomething that could resemble that description!"

x-x-xx-x-xx-x-x-xx-x-xx-x-x-x-x-xx

Dean, leafing through his Dad's journal, paused for a second. His fingertips played over his father's handwriting. His eyes were more soulful that he usually allowed. He was thankful Sam was busy researching on his computer. His lower lip was perch over his top lip. The ability to speak had left him. He shook himself as if to ward of a sudden chill. He rubbed his hand across his chin and took a breath. Finally, he focused in on Sam. "We'll, I've looked in Dad's journal. The only thing that remotely sounds like our description is the Manticore."

Physically, the manticore was know as having the body of a red lion, human face, ears and blue eyes, three rows of teeth in each jaw, a fatal sting like a scorpion's in the end of his tail, and poisoned spines along the tail which could be shot, like arrows in any direction. The beast is very swift and has very powerful leaps. It is known to have an appetite for humans.

The earliest accounts are from Persian legend. The name comes from the Old Persian martikhoras meaning 'man-eater'. Greeks and Romans described the beast the same way. In the middle ages, the manticore was noted to live in the depths of the earth."

"Did Dad ever go up against one?

"Sorry, Sam."

"Any idea on how to kill it?"

"We'll the legend doesn't say. Since a victim injured it, it is not immune to good old-fashioned lead. Pack-up Sam!


	3. Eyes and Hunger for Sam

The Gage farm would have normally been quite lovely, if you overlooked the horrific deaths. Dean kicked what looked like, what he hoped was, dirt off his shoes. His nose wrinkled slightly in disgusted of his other option. "Anything Sam?"

Dean rejoined Sam close to the barn door. "We'll the house is a blood bath and the field is worse. I did find this."

Sam took the item from Dean's outstretched hand. A razor sharp tooth rolled in his palm. "I found what looks like a burrow behind the barn. I looked inside and it seems to go down for quite a bit. I came back to get you."

"Night isnot be the best time to go down there anyway. Could be a lair." Before Dean could speculate further, an eerie voice interrupted the brother's conversation.

"More..more…mine…"

Fifty feet away, the large beast stared at Sam and Dean. His nose sniffed the air briefly as his tongue jutted over his teeth. "More.. Hungry…Mine."

"Yep! That's a Manticore" Dean confirmed.

The manticore charged at full speed, his eyes fixed on his latest prey.

The Manticore was definitely not the king of any jungle. It body had the shape and structure of a large lion, only slightly larger. The rest of the creature could not be described as kindly. Its fur was red-grey, prickly, hard, matted, and bristly. The lion-ish body ended with a hard covered tail with three scorpion-like stingers upon the end. Nothing about this description surprised Dean, until it came to the manticore's face. It appeared as if someone stretched a normal human's face over too large a skull- Misshapen and haggard with ashen, pale skin. The features were grossly out of portion. The nose was two large slits covering a triangle shaped lump in the middle of the face. Two pale grey-blue eyes started out of the darkness- A gaze that alone could freeze many prey. Drool splashed from its razor teeth, which was encased in an orifice large enough to actually bite someone's head off. It pushed forward, leg pounding, growling more than speaking, now.

"That's just damn ugly," Dean yelled as he pointed his shotgun at the creature. Sam had already followed suit.

Making a stand at the open barn doors, Sam and Dean rained a rapid hail of bullets. The bullets slammed into the large beast, but did little to slow the Manticore's pace or progress. Twenty feet from them, Dean abandoned the idea they had enough fire power to bring the creature down. Firing one last round, Dean screamed, "Run Sam!"

Sam and Dean had no other choice, but to run into the barn. Unfortunately, the barn provided little means to defend against this monster. The closest thing to a weapon was the tractor.

"Well this just blows"

"Dean… the ladder".

The creature leaped through the barn entrance, as Dean's head swiveled toward the ladder leading towards the barn loft. He scrambled up with Sam inches behind him, the creature only several feet away and coming fast. The creature's cold eyes glared at the brothers

"Mine…mine," the creature growled out, rearing it hind legs to pouch. He was airborne in a second with his claws flared. His talons found a target and sunk deep into Sam's back.

"AHHHHHGGGH"

"Sam."


	4. Trapped and Lost

Dean pulled himself into the loft, and then grabbed Sammy's forearms. The Manticore was stronger than Dean Winchester, a thing he seldom would admit. The creature pulled Sam closer into his death grip despite his and Dean's efforts. Dean pulled his handgun from his waist and blasted the creature in one of his evil grey-blue eyes.

The creature howled in pain. Dean would have been pleased with himself, had Sammy not been bleeding profusely from his back. Dean pulled Sam up the ladders edge. Sam groaned loudly and rolled onto his right side. Dean assessed Sam quickly. His eyes filled with worry, but his faced determined to survive and help Sam. He turned his attention to the creature below.

The Manticore was already clawing his way back to the ladder. It leaped, digging his claws into the wood of the ladder. Dean whirled and kicked the ladder off balance, sending the creature crashing to the barn floor. The manticore made several jumps, but the barn loft was out of reach. The most it could for the moment was shriek and stalk from below.

Dean sighed and let out a slow breath. Speedily, he returned to Sammy. The wounds were worse than Dean had thought. Blood followed easily upon the hay and Sam was quickly getting foggy. Dean's momentary panic was rapidly replaced by determination to help Sam. He quickly removed Sam's shirt.

"AHHH…damn it."

"How….bad….. is it…. Dean?" Sam gasped slowly and groggily.

"I've hurt you worse." Dean was unsure if he was reassuring Sammy or himself.

"Yeah?" Sam replied, closing his eyes and biting his lip. Dean lowered Sam slowly to the loft floor. He removed his jacket, pulling his father's journal and his flask from the inner pockets before placing the rolled up jacket under Sam's head. He took off his outer long sleeve shirt to wrap Sam's wounds.

Dean poured the flask's liquor upon Sam's back. Dean waited for Sam to react, but the pain only registered as a slight moan. Sam's eyes rolled and closed into unconsciousness. Dean raised him gently to tie the shirt around his torso. Lowering Sammy slowly, Dean rested Sam's head on his upper hip, pulling him close to keep him warm. Sam breathed raggedly. Dean unrolled the jacket and covered Sam. He picked his father's journal from the loft floor and held it to his chest. His free hand instinctively rubbed is eyes, trying to push away the fear and pain that was creeping into him. He flicked the pages of the journal, glanced at Sammy, and then glanced upwards. He eyes were clear and welling. Dean tried to use this mojo to push them away. He brushed his eyes once more.

Looking down once more at Sammy in his lap and quickly back up again, Dean said aloud, "Dad…what…what … do I… do now? His voice trailing off into a crack as tears finally fell onto both of his cheeks. The creature below still howled and waited for a way to get his prey.

-xx—x-xx-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-xx-xx

Time passed slowly into hours as Dean watched over Sam. Dean rested his head against the barn loft wall. The manticore paced below, but was a least was quiet for a change. He frequently glanced hoping that monster would leave, so he could get Sam to a safe location.

Dean glanced down again, to see the manticore staring back at him. "I'm going to kill your ass," Dean passed through his teeth in a hiss. Dean aimed his gun at the creature for the millionth time. Unfortunately, the creature was smart enough to hide from his view when he did. It was time like these, he wished for an UZI, a tank, missile launcher.

Sam stirred and turned his head up to face Dean.

"Dean?" managed to escape Sam's throat.

"Sammy!" Dean's voice was a mix of hope and panic.

"What….wh.." Sam head teetered slightly…how long…

"About three hours. Still dark and still being stalked. I'm get to get that son of a bit…

A small chuckle emitted from Sam. "You…always say that.." Sam shuttered.

Dean readjusted the jacket covering Sam. "Go back to sleep Sammy."

Dean…you…need to get out… leave me here…you'll need to move…"

"Shut up Sam! I'm not leaving you. I'm gonna find a way down. Come back and carry your sorry ass out of here. Now, go back to sleep."

Sam provided no further argument, but closed his eyes. Sam's breathing and heart rate were weak and faint, but he was a Winchester. Nothing could stop the Winchesters. Dean leaned his head back against the barn. Three more hours passed before sleep finally took him too.

-x-xx-x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-x-x-x-x-x

Dean awoke with a start, glanced as his watch, and realized he had dozed off. It wasn't long, but enough to be angry with himself for allowing it to happen. Sam was still asleep. Dean moved him gently and rose to look over the loft banisters. The creature was nowhere to be seen. Dean cursed himself again for kicking off the ladder- the only means of getting out of that loft even if it did save their skins. Dean crept to the far corner of the loft, which was located above the largest pile of hay. The thought of jumping made him uneasy, but his concern for Sammy was greater. Dean called out loudly to verify the possibility it was safe. He crossed one leg over the railing, steadying himself to get momentum to jump. Pushing as hard as his legs could, Dean landed hardly in the haystack. Pleased with himself, he turned to find the ladder to rescue Sam. He found himself staring at the remaining eye of Manticore.


	5. Desperation and Failure

If it was possible for the monster to smile, Dean would have sworn this one was. A frozen moment, face to face in a staring contest with something that wants to make a three course dinner out of you, was not Dean's idea of a good time. He didn't have time to admonish himself for allowing this to happen. His concern for Sam had made him sloppy. The manitcore inhaled and belted out the evil grumble, "Mine"

"Ah..man…." was all Dean could utter before the manticore raised in front paws and pinned him to the floor. Dean's body was trapped under the beast's underbelly. He pumped his legs wildly into the animal's abdomen, which only seem to pi it off more. Dean hadn't felt this desperate since the scarecrow's field. His fingers fumbled at his waist. The creature reared it head and swiftly shifted down, its mouth gaping. Its teeth bore quickly towards Dean's skull.

Dean's hand grasped the hilt of his gun and fired three shots, point blank into the beast's belly. The beast hoisted and shook his head madly in pain. The evil brute's roar shook the barn's structure as Dean rolled out from under him. Dean boosted himself to he legs then darted to the open barn door.

The manticore regained its footing and lunged towards the escaping Dean. It managed to clip Dean, sending him crashing into the barn's wall. Blood oozed from the side of Dean's mouth. He quickly shrugged off the blow, relatively unharmed. The beast was bloody, but the bullet wounds did little to impact actual harm to the thing. The only significant wound appeared to from Dean's close encounter- not that Dean wanted to get that close again. The creature snarled. It adjusted its back legs to pounce once more. Dean's gun expelled the last bullet, the creatures body was fast falling upon him again. He up righted himself, pulling the gun from his ankle holster. Carefully aiming, Dean fired into the only apparent wound. The monster landed in a thudding pain inches away from Dean. Dean used the opportunity to sprint for the door. A shadow of a second later, the manitcore revived. This time, the creature's appendage found truer aim and sent Dean crashing out door. Dean's body spiraled, landing with a resounding wallop at the cornfield's edge. His body remained motionless as the creature took a step out of the barn door.

Dean shook his head and rolled onto his back. Pushing back the aches, Dean scrambled to his feet. The manticore advanced a few feet out of the door. It turned in a circle and sniffed the air, then snapped his head in all directions. It plunged towards him, missing Dean by mere inches. The beast landed head first into the cornfield. As Dean rushed towards the Impala, the manticore pushed his way back from the field. Dean didn't have time to be thankful for his luck.

Dean quickly popped the trunk. Immediately, he shoved as much as he could into a duffle as he glanced every other second towards the manticore. Recovering from its mishap in the corn, the beast repeated the circle pattern, sniffed the air, and turned his head back and forth. Dean smirked as he realized the miss was not luck, but something that might work in his favor.

"You can't see in the light… you son of a bitch".

However, hearing didn't seem to be a problem. The beast rushed towards Dean. Grabbing an ax before slamming the hood down, Dean swung at the oncoming fiend. The ax severed part of the front claws. The beast responded by snapping in the air repeatedly attempting to find something of Dean's to chomp. Dean stooped to prevent the animal from taking a bite out of him. The manticore devised a different tactic and started swinging the triple tipped tale at the ground. Dean stooped lower and rolled away as strike landed next to his shoulder. As he shot to his feet, the manticore vaulted his tail towards Dean again. A stinger brushed and entered his left leg.

"Ahhh.." Dean fell to his knees. The creature retracted his tail, allowing Dean enough time to pull a gun from the duffel bag. Dean fired at the creatures other eye, hitting his mark with his uncanny accuracy. The creature reacted madly. Using his teeth, tail, and claws wildly, the creature moved with no real logic.

Dean winched as the pain shot up from his leg, but hobbled to the doors with as much haste as he could. He was thankful the newest injury caused enough bother to divide the creature's attention between lunch and pain. Dean swung the barn doors to close and latched them, leaving at least some barrier. Glancing around, Dean chuckled at himself when he discovered a brace for the barn door.

Using his right leg to boost himself into the tractor seat, Dean started the engine. At least the tractor would be useful after all. After parking the tractor as a door brace, Dean eased himself onto the barn floor.

His leg wobbled and buckled beneath him. He removed his belt and fastened it to his upper leg. His body flushed with fever causing the room to spin. He shook off the urge to give into the poison.

Dean shoved the ax into his duffle, and then slung it over his shoulder. He quickly located the ladder and shambled unsteadily up the rungs. Dean felt as if his body was wilted, containing no substance to nourish the desires of his mind. The manticore had already started slamming into the barn door. Dean's head bobbed as he slumped into the barn loft. His body trembled as he struggled to pull the ladder into the loft. With great effort, Dean accomplished this task. Sweat poured over his face and his body quivered. He took two steps towards Sam before he smashed harshly to the floor. His breath came in pants.

"I'm sorry… Sammy…I've…failed…Dad and yo….." Dean shuddered and convulsed and his mind slipped into darkness as he tried to focus on Sam's face.


	6. Dad I need you

"Dean, wake up. Dean"

Dean smacked his lips. He managed to pry his eyes open to narrow slits. The face before him was blurred like he was looking through water. His eyes closed easily.

"Dean. Come on now. You have worked to do."

Dean jolted his eyes back onto the face. His eyes were sunken and struggling to focus.

"Sam…" he muttered.

"No Dean."

Dean focused his attention as hard as possible on the face. Surprise widened his eyes as he mouthed, "Dad".

"Yeah, you look like hell. How ya doin?"

"We'll I'm hallucinating…and something… is trying to eat me.. and not in a good way." Dean tried to force his body to move.

"I don't think it is wise to move right now."

Dean's body was chilled to his core. He shuttered harder and pain froze to his bones. "Oh.. yeah.. bad…..idea."

"You have to fight this Dean. Sam needs you."

"Dad.. You shouldn't..have gone. I can't…do this alone…I". A spasm jolted his body and he gasped in sharp short breaths.

"You can fight this and beat this. Just like you can handle what's coming. You just have to fight."

"Dad…please…we need you….I …can't"

You always could. You just need to believe it. You just need to fight this and WAKE UP!"

Dean jolted and shook as the words wake up resonated in his head. The cold penetrated down to his bones, half from his injury and half remembering, the sound of his Dad's voice. He snapped up into the void that just held the image of his father. He wasn't there-just the darkness of the black hole in Dean's soul. His lip quivered and his eyes narrowed to shut off the pain, anger, and loss he felt.

The comfort of his father's voice had been shocking. It was something he needed more than he would ever admit. He missed the small moments when his Dad and he just clicked. He even missed the last days when they didn't. Dean's eyes were distant, caught somewhere between comfort and pain. His mother had been the one to bring comfort when he was very small. His dad- he was strong- always sure of what to do. Comfort was not a word you would use for his Dad, let alone think you could feel.

But, there he was, the second time during this hunt, thinking about his Dad-feeling lost.-thinking about his family- letting the sadness into him-despairing his failure to protect his Dad and Sam.

Dean closed his eyes and shook his head. When he opened his eyes, they were filled with the image of Sam still sleeping soundly. Dean nodded his head and a half smirk displayed on his lips followed by an involuntary chuckle.

He eased himself up and leaned against the loft's railing. The urge for lights to go out was still calling him, but he'd be damn if evil messed up his life anymore. Allowing the pain to push through, he staggered to check Sam.

Sam's pulse and heart rate were steady. Dean untied the shirt covering the deep gashed in Sam's back. The wounds had coagulated and the blood was no longer flowing. As he re-tied the shirt, Sam stirred. It took a few moments, but Sam looked up at his brother.

"Dean?"

"Last I checked, Sparky"

"You look like shit"

"Ha… me…that's never happens. That's why I get all the ladies." Dean forced the jokes. He wasn't really in the mood to poke fun with Sam, but the last thing he needed was for Sam to worry about him.

"So, who's looks worst- you or the thing that got you," Sam moaned out as he sat punter

"I'm wiping the floor with him. Take it easy. I've got something I need to finish."

"Dean, you're doing no better than me"

"Get your ass up then! This mother's going down.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

After filling Sam in on the highlights of his recent royal rumble, Dean dumped the duffel's contents onto the floor. An assortment of guns with a several grenades splattered out in a massive pile.

"Think you got enough," Sam declared. "Did you leave anything in the car?"

"I would like to shove a WMD up this thing ass.". Dean's words may have been expressing his resolve to end the manticore's reign of terror, but his physical appearance was the polar opposite. Sam noted that Dean had not acknowledged his injury, but Sam was painfully aware it was not a scratch. Dean's body would jerk and shake, but somehow he fought back each time to stand his ground. After scrutinize him for a while, Sam realized Dean was hurt badly and far worse than his brother wanted to admit for the moment.

"Dean, you can't go down there. You never should have gone the first time. Man, you can't be pulling macho crap…Why do you do these thin…"

"Sam."

Sam's voice trailed off when Dean spoke his name. It wasn't harsh or an admonishment. Dean's eyes told Sam that he went down for him. Sam was bewildered by the lengths Dean went to protect him sometimes-like today. If you asked him about his brother, when he first pulled Sam on the road again, he would not have believed he would come to admire him more.

"In any case, we need a plan to do same damage to him" Sam's tone quickly changing to deal with business at hand.

"Hey I blinded it, cut off some toes, and put a huge hole in its belly, while you took a nap." Dean's usually cocky grin managed to surface for the first time since Sam awoke.

We need to corral this thing and feed it something it won't soon forget.


	7. Standoff Game

Sam and Dean slowly descended the ladder as quietly as possible. The beast seemed to hear, as well as it use to be able to see. Sam spotted the creature snorting in the air and grumbling what sounded like human words. Somehow, they reached the bottom and slowly proceeded towards front of the barn near the scratched through barn door. Dean and Sam set up positions in opposites sides of the front barn area.

Dean nodded to Sam and Sam returned the gesture. Both pointing guns in each hand, they opened fire on the Manticore. The creature loomed in the air and rampaged towards the front of the barn.

Sam stopped firing and the creature headed for Dean. Before the beast could reach Dean, Sam opened another barrage of bullets. The creature flinched and, Dean stopped firing and changed his position. The creature slammed head first into the west barn wall.

Sam continued his onslaught. The beast turned and rampaged towards him. When the beast got too close for Dean's comfort, he opened fire again. The bullets may not kill him, but they do hurt. Sam stopped firing and changed his position. The beast realized Sam had stopped and skidded to stop his run. It could not stop its stride in time and its torso twisted. He thumped in the east barn wall.

Dean's plan was working perfectly. The gun fire kept the manticore from hearing them change positions. The blindness allowed them time to move before he could get too close. The thing knew they were playing it. They wouldn't get it to knock into many more walls, but they could play this gun play Ping-Pong until the right opportunity presented itself.

Dean fired a newly brandished weapon from his waist and fired rapidly. The creature didn't run this time, but stalked closer. He used his front claws and tail to canvas the area before him. Trying to ensnare Dean and keep him from moving. Again, Dean stopped firing. This time the beast was further from him, but they had to change tactics to match the creature.

Sam took up the hail of gunfire from Dean. Dean moved closer to the broken barn door. He rapidly started to reload his guns. Sam continued his fire, but the creature had pinned him in the corner with no means to escape. It widened its swing, keeping Sam from moving to a safe distance. The beast was just past the mid-point, but a safe distance for Dean to take action. Dean dropped his guns brutally to the ground, pulled a pin on a grenade, and lobbed it at the creature's hind quarters.

The projectile smacked against the creature's body causing it to jump back further into the barn. The fire cloud erupted from the grenade knocked Sam back into the wall but did not reach him. The creature was not as fortunate. It managed to avoid substantial damage, but the fire burned a good portion of its face and left flank.

The manticore became enraged and flicked his body and head wildly. He rolled around on the barn's dirt floor, up righted himself and charged back to Dean. It didn't concern itself with slamming in walls, but darted toward him with molten fury. The creature roared wildly only a few feet from Dean.

Sam picked himself off the floor. He had watched the creature's progress on Dean throughout the battle, allowing more time than usual. Dean was not moving as he normal would and it was not the time Sam was going to chance it. Sam realized the blast had interfered with his vow. The beast was too close to Dean.

The beast's roar resonated in the barn's loft. Dean felt the hot breath on his face. The manticore cocked his head and opened his jaws to snap. Dean yanked a grenade pin and heaved the explosive down the creature's gullet.

"Dean" Sam yelled. Dean was too close to that explosion. Dean dropped with a loud smack and rolled under the tractor.

The creature's upper body and head smashed outward and spatter widespread over the barn. The upper back and hind flank heaped over it a molten mess.

"Dean!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Sam's voice found no response.


	8. Dean!

"Dean!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Yeah."

"Dean." Sam helped slide his brother from under the tractor's front. The dropped had hurt him. Dean's face was more ashen than before, his teeth were clenched, and his breath was short and loud. He placed his arms under Dean's. Sam eased Dean up supporting Dean's back on his torso. Dean wobbled and placed his hands on the tractor front.

Dean had regained a small amount of gumption and steadied himself. He looked back at what remained of the creature. "That's just nasty."

"It's over Dean."

"Nope," Dean waivered unsteadily. He swallowed hard as if he held back the sensation to hurl. "W have one more thing to take care of."

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Dean and Sam stood in front the opening in the ground

"Is this really necessary Dean?"

"You found this hidey hole lair thing. I mean we just took care of Mr. Damn. I don't want Ms. Damn and the whole damn family coming for a visit too. With that, Sam and Dean both dropped the last of the grenades into the hole and both limped away as a massive dirt blast propelled through the darkening sky.

Dean's body was screaming and his steps were staggering with each step become harder to take. His last two steps were the limit his tenacity could force him to take. He felt himself ready to crash as his head felt heavy and groggy. Dean attempted to keep his eyes open and force his body to listen out of sheer will, but his eyes rolled and he fell backwards towards the ground. The pain pulsated through him as his body made the journey to the farm terrain. His progress was stopped when he was seized by Sam breaking his fall. Sam had gone down on his knees and the weight of his brother had erupted his injury with pain.

"Easy…easy..."

Dean face was contorted by the pain, his breathing rapid and gasping, his core was cold and freezing, and his body quivered with no control. Dean opened his mouth to speak, but only a gasp came out. Sam grabbed Dean's wrist and it jerked in his hand. His pulse was racing.

"You're alright. I got you," Sam reassured. The truth of Sam's worry rode upon his face. He told himself, that Dean had not allowed him to die in that loft. He had stopped him from bleeding to death. He was not going to allow Dean to die, especially since he was hurt by trying to save him.

Pushing himself and Dean up, Sam dragged his brother over to the Impala. He rolled Dean into the passenger seat, and then raced to the driver's seat.

Sam jerked out of the farm, driving faster than Dean would have been happy to witness. He alternated fleeting looks between Dean and the road.

Dean's head rested on the window and faced Sam. His head bobbled back and forth as he trembled and convulsed. His eyes were slits and the mischievous sparkle was dim. Dean took a deep breath and his respiration paused.

"Dean! Don't you do this! I need you to stay with me. I need you." Sam yelled.

"Dean please" His last words broke out of his mouth in plea and sadness played upon his face.

The words I need you rang in Dean's head. As if those words awoke some protective instinct in his head, it forced him to take a breath. His head weaved to rest upon the window. His eyes widened with a forlorn look at Sam.

"Just hang on. Just… hang on okay." Sam's voice was mellifluous, as sweet and honeyed as when he was a boy. Sam wasn't sure how much he was asking Dean to fight or God to fight for Dean. At the moment, he didn't care.


	9. Circle

"Dean, wake up. Dean"

Dean smacked his lips. He managed to pry his eyes open to narrow slits. The face before him was blurred like he was looking through water.

"Dean"

"Dad…" he muttered.

"No Dean." The voice replied with an undertone of sorrow.

Dean allowed his eyes to focus. "Hey Sammy"

"Yeah, you look like hell. How ya feelin?"

"Tired."

"You've been in ICU for three days and asleep for another two. You scared the crap out of me. AGAIN!

"Sorry, my job is just really boring. I needed to spice it up." Dean forced his body to move.

The doctor said the toxin in your system has never been seen before."

"There's a shocker"

"It was similar to scorpion poison. They gave you anti-venom and they speculate the rest your body fended off."

"Well, if you want something done, do it yourself."

"The nurses were very impressed. You got two numbers"

"Heeeyy. Still kicking your butt in action and I wasn't even awake."

Sam smirked. "We'll anyway the local sheriff had some question. I told him we were attacked by an escaped lion. He's got about 15 locals with guns hunting it now. Sooner or later, someone is going to find the mess we made. Also, he wanted to get a statement from you as soon as you were able."

"So, we should haul."

"Yeah"

Dean swung his legs and sat on the bed's edge. He looked up and said, "Sam. I really hate it here in Wahoo, Nebraska!

Sam chuckled as he helped his brother from the hospital bed.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-xx-

Sam stood at the gas pumps filling tank. Dean cracked his back as he sat in the passenger seat. He felt exhausted. Minutes later Sam popped his head through the window.

"Need anything?"

"Nah."

Sam marched in the gas station door and gathered random junk food and coffee for the road.

Dean leaned back and spied his father's journal in the backseat. He leaned further to grasp the record of his father fight- his father's life. He rubbed the binding and shoved the journal in his inner jacket pocket. "I love you, Dad" he mouthed silently.

Second later, Sam shoved himself in the driver's seat and pulled on the same lonely highway from days ago.

"Be good to my baby, Sam."

"I could give you a moment alone. I understand you have needs" Just as a chuckle passed his lips, the front wheel dipped into a huge pothole.

"Ha ha ha..Yeah, you're a good driver." Dean said as rubbed his eyes

"Shut up, you hit one too. So, do you want to go check out that ghost house in Toledo? According to local reports, there have been sightings for the past 30 years. The legend goes the woman is responsible for..." Sam stopped his narration when he noticed the rhythmic breathing coming from Dean's side or the car.

He glanced over at Dean, who had fallen asleep. Sam wanted to let him sleep. Sleeping seemed to be escaping lately, especially to Dean. He spent most of his time protecting him, carrying the weight of his father's last words, and taking up the demon hunting mantle left by his father. Sam vowed he would never allow the relationship with his brother to be like the one he had with his father. He hoped that his Dad knew he loved him even thought they fought. . After putting some highway between them and this town, Sam vowed he would find a nice motel. It would be good to rest for a few days before fighting again. His brother deserved at least that.

He turned his attention to the road flanked by endless cornstalks. The sun was shining in the sky for a change. Sam sucked down the putrid coffee and accelerated the Impala into the horizon.

---xxxx----------THE END------xxxxx

Author's note: This was my 1st attempt at fanfic ever and my first attempt at writing anything. Last time I created anything was in 1993 and as a newbie to fanfic world, I must say the welcome and support has been overwhelming. Thanks to all of you!

I know that it was not that long, but I appreciate anyone who commented or read this. My 2nd story is almost finished and as I write my 3rd one, it keeps getting longer and longer (lol). Much love to all SN fans and fanfic writers. I can't wait to read all of yours.


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